Handheld image translation device including an image capture device

ABSTRACT

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for a handheld image translation device including an image capture device are described herein. The handheld image translation device may include an image capture device configured to capture an image, one or more navigation sensors configured to capture a plurality of navigational measurements, and a print head configured to deposit a printing substance on a first medium. The image translation device may also include a control block configured to determine a position of the apparatus relative to a reference point based at least in part on the plurality of navigational measurements, and to control the print head to deposit the printing substance based at least in part on the image captured by the image capture device and the determined position of the apparatus. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This present application is a non-provisional application of provisionalapplication 61/033,915, filed on Mar. 5, 2008 and claims priority tosaid provisional application. The specification of said provisionalapplication is hereby incorporated in its entirety, except for thosesections, if any, that are inconsistent with this specification.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of imagetranslation and, in particular, to a handheld image translation devicethat includes an image capture device.

BACKGROUND

Traditional printing devices rely on a mechanically operated carriage totransport a print head in a linear direction as other mechanics advancea print medium in an orthogonal direction. As the print head moves overthe print medium an image may be laid down. Portable printers have beendeveloped through technologies that reduce the size of the operatingmechanics. However, the principles of providing relative movementbetween the print head and print medium remain the same as traditionalprinting devices. Accordingly, these mechanics limit the reduction ofsize of the printer as well as the material that may be used as theprint medium.

Handheld printing devices have been developed that ostensibly allow anoperator to manipulate a handheld device over a print medium in order toprint an image onto the medium. However, these devices are challenged bythe unpredictable and nonlinear movement of the device by the operator.The variations of operator movement make it difficult to determine theprecise location of the print head. This type of positioning error mayhave deleterious effects of the quality of the printed image. This isespecially the case for relatively large print jobs, as the positioningerror may accumulate in a compounded manner over the entire printoperation.

Digital image capture devices (cameras) and print solutions (printer)have been implemented with a physical separation of the digital imagecapture device and the printer device. The digital image capture deviceis required to transfer the digital image via a wired connection, mediacards, or wirelessly to a printer.

Concepts have been proposed that integrate a small print mechanismwithin the body of a camera or a camera enabled cell phone. Theintegration of the smaller print mechanism into a camera or cell phonethat captures digital images limits the printed image size and/orincreases the overall image size of the image capture device.

While Polaroid® cameras have provided integrated capture and hardcopysolutions based on a unique paper cartridge/cassette that is installedinto a more traditional film camera, this combination camera solutionhas a limited hardcopy picture size, determined by the size of the papercartridge that may be contained in the camera. A second drawback is thatthe image is only available as hardcopy, not electronic. There is nomethod to create multiple high quality images or re-create the originalimage, except by manual scanning the hardcopy image

SUMMARY

In view of the challenges in the state of the art, at least someembodiments of the present invention are based on the technical problemof providing a handheld image translation device that may capture animage via an image capture device. More specifically, there is provided,in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, anapparatus that comprises an image capture device configured to capturean image, one or more navigation sensors configured to capture aplurality of navigational measurements, and a print head configured todeposit a printing substance on a first medium. The apparatus furthercomprises a control block configured to determine first positions of theapparatus relative to a reference point based at least in part on theplurality of navigational measurements, and to control the print head todeposit the printing substance based at least in part on the imagecaptured by the image capture device and the determined first positionsof the apparatus.

In accordance with various embodiments, the apparatus may furthercomprise a communication interface configured to receive a sourced imagefrom an image source. In accordance with various embodiments, thecommunication interface may comprise a wireless communication interface.In accordance with various embodiments, the communication interface maycomprise a port to receive a removable storage device. In accordancewith various embodiments, the control block may be further configured toprocess the sourced image received by the communication interface in amanner to facilitate depositing of the printing substance.

In accordance with various embodiments, the control block may be furtherconfigured to cause a printing substance to be deposited on the firstmedium based at least in part on the sourced image and determinedpositions of the apparatus.

In some embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise one or moreoptical imaging sensors configured to capture a first plurality ofsurface images of the first medium adjacent to the apparatus. Inaccordance with various embodiments, the control block may be configuredto determine the first positions of the apparatus relative to thereference point based at least further in part on the first plurality ofsurface images.

In accordance with various embodiments, the one or more optical imagingsensors may be further configured to capture a second plurality ofsurface images of a second medium adjacent to the apparatus, the one ormore navigation sensors may be further configured to capture a secondplurality of navigational measurements, and the control block may befurther configured to determine a plurality of positions of theapparatus relative to another reference point based at least in part onthe second plurality of navigational measurements, and to construct acomposite image based at least in part on the second plurality ofsurface images and the determined plurality of positions of theapparatus.

In some embodiments, the print head has a linear dimension and comprisesone or more nozzle rows and the one or more optical imaging sensorsincludes a linear array of optical elements having a linear dimensionthat is similar to the linear dimension of the print head.

In accordance with some embodiments, the print head includes a pluralityof nozzles and the one or more optical imaging sensors include aplurality of optical elements.

In accordance with some embodiments, a first set of the plurality ofnozzles is arranged on a first side of the plurality of optical elementsand a second set of the plurality of nozzles is arranged on a secondside of the plurality of optical elements.

In accordance with some embodiments, the first set of the plurality ofnozzles includes nozzles for a first colored printing substance andnozzles for a second colored printing substance.

In accordance with some embodiments, a third set of the plurality ofnozzles is arranged on a third side of the plurality of optical elementsand a fourth set of the plurality of nozzles is arranged on a fourthside of the plurality of optical elements.

In accordance with some embodiments, the plurality of nozzles isarranged around the plurality of optical elements.

In accordance with some embodiments, the plurality of nozzles isarranged in rings around the plurality of optical elements.

In accordance with some embodiments, the one or more navigation sensorsare further configured to capture a second plurality of navigationalmeasurements, and wherein the control block is further configured todetermine second positions of the image translation device relative tothe reference point based at least in part on the second plurality ofnavigational measurements, to control the print head to deposit theprinting substance on the first medium based at least in part on thedetermined second positions to thereby create a printed menu ofoperations on the first medium, to determine a selected operation fromthe printed menu of operations, and to process the image captured by theimage capture device based upon the selected operation to provide aprocessed image.

In accordance with some embodiments, the one or more navigation sensorsare further configured to capture a third plurality of navigationalmeasurements, and wherein the control block is further configured todetermine third positions of the image translation device relative toanother reference point based at least in part on the third plurality ofnavigational measurements, to control the print head to deposit theprinting substance on the first medium based at least in part on theprocessed image and the determined third positions.

In accordance with some embodiments, the operations are from a listcomprising cropping, adjustment for red eye and color adjustment.

In accordance with some embodiments, the control block is furtherconfigured to store the image captured by the image capture device.

In accordance with some embodiments, the apparatus further comprisesmemory and wherein the control block is further configured to store theimage captured by the image capture device in the memory.

In accordance with some embodiments, the control block is furtherconfigured to remotely store the image captured by the image capturedevice.

A method is also provided in accordance with various embodiments. Themethod may include capturing an image, controlling one or morenavigation sensors to capture a first plurality of navigationalmeasurements, determining a position of an image translation devicerelative to a reference point based at least in part on the firstplurality of navigational measurements, and controlling a print head todeposit a printing substance on a first medium based at least in part onthe captured image and the determined position.

In various embodiments, the method may further include controlling oneor more optical image sensors to capture a first plurality of surfaceimages of a first medium adjacent to the one or more optical imagesensors, wherein the position of the image translation device is basedat least further in part on the first plurality of surface images.

In some embodiments, the method may further include processing thecaptured image in a manner to facilitate said controlling of the printhead to deposit the printing substance.

In various embodiments, the method may further include storing theimage.

In some embodiments, the image may be stored locally.

In some embodiments, the image may be stored remotely.

The present invention also provides a machine-accessible medium havingassociated instructions, which, when executed, results in an imagetranslation device capturing an image, controlling one or morenavigation sensors to capture a first plurality of navigationalmeasurements, determining a position of the image translation devicerelative to a reference point based at least in part on the firstplurality of navigational measurements, and controlling a print head todeposit a printing substance on a first medium based at least in part onthe captured image and the determined position.

In some embodiments, the associated instructions, when executed, furtherresult in the image translation device controlling one or more opticalimage sensors to capture a first plurality of surface images of a firstmedium adjacent to the one or more optical image sensors, wherein theposition of the image translation device is based at least further inpart on the first plurality of surface images.

In some embodiments, the associated instructions, when executed, furtherresults in the image translation device processing the captured image ina manner to facilitate said controlling of the print head to deposit theprinting substance.

In various embodiments, the associated instructions, when executed,further result in the image translation device storing the image.

In some embodiments, the associated instructions, when executed, furtherresult in the image translation device storing the image locally.

In some embodiments, the associated instructions, when executed, furtherresult in the image translation device storing the image remotely.

The present invention also provides a method comprising, providing animage to an image translation device, controlling one or more navigationsensors to capture a first plurality of navigational measurements,determining first positions of the image translation device relative toa reference point based at least in part on the first plurality ofnavigational measurements, controlling a print head to deposit aprinting substance on a first medium based at least in part on the imageand the determined first positions, controlling one or more navigationsensors to capture a second plurality of navigational measurements,determining second positions of the image translation device relative tothe reference point based at least in part on the second plurality ofnavigational measurements, controlling the print head to deposit theprinting substance on the first medium based at least in part on thedetermined second positions to thereby create a printed menu ofoperations on the first medium, moving the image translation deviceadjacent an operation within the printed menu of operations, andselecting the operation with the image translation device.

In some embodiments, the image may be provided from an image source.

In some embodiments, the image may be provided from the image source viaa wireless communication interface.

In various embodiments, the image may be provided from the image sourcevia a communication interface that comprises a port to receive aremovable storage device.

In some embodiments, the image may be provided from an image capturedevice included within the image translation device.

In some embodiments, the image may be provided via one or more opticalimaging sensors configured to capture a first plurality of surfaceimages of the first medium adjacent to the image translation device.

In various embodiments, the operations may be from a list comprisingcropping, adjustment for red eye and color adjustment.

In some embodiments, the method may further comprise processing theprovided image based upon at least one selected operation to provide aprocessed image, controlling one or more navigation sensors to capture athird plurality of navigational measurements, determining thirdpositions of the image translation device relative to another referencepoint based at least in part on the third plurality of navigationalmeasurements, and controlling the print head to deposit the printingsubstance on the first medium based at least in part on the processedimage and the determined third positions.

The present invention also provides a machine-accessible medium havingassociated instructions, which, when executed, results in an imagetranslation device controlling one or more navigation sensors to capturea first plurality of navigational measurements, determining firstpositions of the image translation device relative to a reference pointbased at least in part on the first plurality of navigationalmeasurements, controlling a print head to deposit a printing substanceon a first medium based at least in part on an image and the determinedfirst positions, controlling one or more navigation sensors to capture asecond plurality of navigational measurements, determining secondpositions of the image translation device relative to the referencepoint based at least in part on the second plurality of navigationalmeasurements, controlling the print head to deposit the printingsubstance on the first medium based at least in part on the determinedsecond positions to thereby create a printed menu of operations on thefirst medium, moving the image translation device adjacent an operationwithin the printed menu of operations, and selecting the operation withthe image translation device.

In some embodiments, the associated instructions, when executed, furtherresult in the image translation device processing the provided imagebased upon at least one selected operation to provide a processed image,controlling one or more navigation sensors to capture a third pluralityof navigational measurements, determining third positions of the imagetranslation device relative to another reference point based at least inpart on the third plurality of navigational measurements, andcontrolling the print head to deposit the printing substance on thefirst medium based at least in part on the processed image and thedetermined third positions.

The present invention also provides an apparatus comprising one or morenavigation sensors configured to capture a plurality of navigationalmeasurements, a print head configured to deposit a printing substance ona first medium, and a control block configured to determine a pluralityof positions of the apparatus relative to a reference point based atleast in part on the plurality of navigational measurements, to controlthe print head to deposit the printing substance based at least in parton an image and determined first positions of the apparatus, to furthercontrol the print head to deposit the printing substance based at leastin part on a menu of operations to create a printed menu and determinedsecond positions of the apparatus, and to select an operation from theprinted menu.

In some embodiments, the control block is further configured to processthe image based upon the selected operation, to determine thirdpositions of the apparatus based upon the plurality of navigationalmeasurements, and to further control the print head to deposit theprinting substance based at least in part on the processed image anddetermined third positions of the apparatus.

Other features that are considered as characteristic for embodiments ofthe present invention are set forth in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments,but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichlike references denote similar elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a system including a handheld image translationdevice in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 1A schematically illustrates an example of an IR tag pattern for aprint medium for use with various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of a handheld image translation device inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2A is a front plan view of a handheld image translation device inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of an image translation device in accordancewith various embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram depicting a positioning operation of a handheldimage translation device in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a printing operation of a handheldimage translation device in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting a scanning operation of a handheldimage translation device in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a draft printed image and a printed menu;and

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a computing device capable ofimplementing a control block of a handheld image translation device inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings which form a part hereof wherein like numeralsdesignate like parts throughout, and in which are shown, by way ofillustration, specific embodiments in which the invention may bepracticed. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilizedand structural or logical changes may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detaileddescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic describedin connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the sameembodiment, but they may.

The phrase “A and/or B” means (A), (B), or (A and B). The phrase “A, B,and/or C” means (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C) or (A, Band C). The phrase “(A) B” means (A B) or (B), that is, A is optional.

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a system 100 including a handheld imagetranslation device 104, hereinafter IT device 104, in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention. The IT device 104 mayinclude a control block 108 with components designed to facilitateprecise and accurate positioning of a print head 112 and/or opticalimaging sensors 146 throughout an entire image translation operation.This positioning may allow for reliable image translation in a trulymobile and versatile platform.

Image translation, as used herein, may refer to a translation of animage that exists in a particular context (e.g., medium) into an imagein another context. For example, an image translation operation may be ascan operation. In this situation, a target image, e.g., an image thatexists on a tangible medium, is scanned by the IT device 104 and anacquired image that corresponds to the target image is created andstored in memory of the IT device 104. For another example, an imagetranslation operation may be a print operation. In this situation, anacquired image, e.g., an image as it exists in memory of the IT device104, may be printed onto a print medium.

The control block 108 may include a communication interface 116configured to communicatively couple the control block 108 to otherdevices 120, which may include an image source 124. The image source 124may be any type of device capable of transmitting data related to animage to be printed. The image source 124 may include a general purposecomputing device, e.g., a desktop computing device, a laptop computingdevice, a mobile computing device, a personal digital assistant, acellular phone, etc. or it may be a removable storage device, e.g., aflash memory data storage device, designed to store data such as imagedata. If the image source 124 is a removable storage device, e.g., auniversal serial bus (USB) storage device, the communication interfacemay include a port, e.g., USB port, designed to receive the storagedevice.

The communication interface 116 may include a wireless transceiver toallow the communicative coupling with the image source 124 to take placeover a wireless link. The image data may be wirelessly transmitted overthe link through the modulation of electromagnetic waves withfrequencies in the radio, infrared or microwave spectrums.

A wireless link may contribute to the mobility and versatility of the ITdevice 104. However, some embodiments may additionally/alternativelyinclude a wired link communicatively coupling one or more of the otherdevices 120 to the communication interface 116.

In accordance with various embodiments, the IT device 104 may include animage capture device 126, i.e., a camera. Preferably, the image capturedevice 126 may include various camera features such as, for example, azoom lens, and may be able to store images captured by the image captiondevice in a memory that may be included with IT device 104 or on memorycards known in the art, which is a common method of storing images takenby digital cameras. Thus, storing an image locally may include storingin the memory of IT device 104 or on memory cards, while storing imagesremotely may include storing the images at other devices such as, forexample, image source 124. A flash (not shown) may also be included withimage capture device 126, if desired.

In some embodiments, the communication interface 116 may communicatewith the other devices 120 through one or more wired and/or wirelessnetworks including, but not limited to, personal area networks, localarea networks, wide area networks, metropolitan area networks, etc. Thedata transmission may be done in a manner compatible with any of anumber of standards and/or specifications including, but not limited to,802.11, 802.16, Bluetooth, Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM), code-division multiple access (CDMA), Ethernet, etc.

The communication interface 116 may transmit the received image data toan on-board image processing module 128. The image processing module 128may process the received image data in a manner to facilitate anupcoming printing process. Image processing techniques may includedithering, decompression, half-toning, color plane separation, and/orimage storage. In various embodiments some or all of these imageprocessing operations may be performed by the image source 124 oranother device. The processed image may then be transmitted to a printmodule 132 where it is cached in anticipation of a print operation.

In various embodiments, the on-board image processing module 128 mayalso process images captured by the image capture device 126. Theseoperations include, but are not limited to, dithering, decompression,half-toning, color plain separation, and/or image storage. Often, imagescaptured by image capture device 126 are in the RGB color format, whichis often typical for electrical or digital cameras. Thus, onboard imageprocessing module 128 may convert the image to the CMY color format forprinting, which is generally the format for printing.

The print module 132 may also receive positioning information,indicative of a position of the print head 112 relative to a referencepoint, from a positioning module 134. The positioning module 134 may becommunicatively coupled to one or more navigation sensors 138 configuredto capture navigational measurements. In some embodiments, thenavigational measurements may be navigational images of a mediumadjacent to the IT device 104. In these embodiments, the navigationsensors may also be referred to as imaging navigation sensors. Animaging navigation sensor may include a light source, e.g., LED, alaser, etc., and an optoelectronic sensor designed to capture a seriesof navigational images of an adjacent medium as the IT device 104 ismoved over the medium. The positioning module 134 may process the imagesprovided by the imaging navigation sensors to detect structuralvariations of the medium. The movement of the structural variations insuccessive images may indicate motion of the IT device 104 relative tothe medium. Tracking this relative movement may facilitate determinationof the precise positioning of the navigation sensors 138. The navigationsensors 138 may be maintained in a structurally rigid relationship withthe print head 112, thereby allowing for the calculation of the preciselocation of the print head 112. In other embodiments, non-imagingnavigation sensors may be additionally/alternatively used to captureother navigational measurements.

Navigation sensors 138 may have operating characteristics sufficient totrack movement of the IT device 104 with the desired degree ofprecision. In one example, imaging navigation sensors may processapproximately 2000 frames per second, with each frame including arectangular array of 30×30 pixels. Each pixel may detect a six-bitinterference pattern value, e.g., capable of sensing 64 different levelsof patterning.

The printing process for an image captured by the image capture device126, or even other images to be printed, may be on tagged paper. Inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention, imagesprinted by the IT device 104 that have been captured by the imagecapture device 126, and even other images printed by the IT device 104,generally do not have size limitations and thus, may be printed in avariety of sizes and on a variety of surfaces. For example, prints maybe typical sizes such as, for example, 3×5 inches, 4×6 inches, 5×7inches, 8×10 inches, etc., or any other sizes as desired.

As previously mentioned, in accordance with various embodiments of thepresent invention, pre-marked (pre-tagged) paper using a markingtechnology that is not visible to the human eye such as, for example,yellow or infrared on a paper medium may be used as a print medium. Thispre-tagged medium has markings or tags encoded on its surface thatprovide absolute X, Y position information relative to the actualposition that the data was encoded on the medium. To decode or determinethe position data, navigation sensors 138 are CMOS sensors that are ableto read the encoded information on the pre-tagged medium in order toextract the absolute X, Y position data. Thus, this embodiment of thepresent invention uses CMOS imaging sensors tuned to the light wave ofthe encoded marking on the print medium that may read the absoluteencoded X, Y position information on the medium while the IT device 104is in motion. This embodiment allows the IT device 104 to extractabsolute position information for each position measurement. With thistype of approach, the position errors are generally not cumulative. Suchan embodiment generally includes a configuration using two sensors 138that each provides the absolute X, Y position data that is then used tocalculate the angular accuracy for the print head position that isdesired in order to support printing. Additionally, velocity of the ITdevice 104 may also be determined by calculating the changes in positionand the time involved with the changes in position.

Thus, in this type of embodiment, the print medium needs to bepre-printed with the tag information. In accordance with variousembodiments, the marking information is infrared encoding and thus, thenavigation sensors 138 are IR CMOS imaging sensors that may capture theIR signature that is only readable under IR illumination (and thereforenot visible to the human eye). The IR signature or tag information mayconsist of a regular pattern and a field of digitally encoded data. Theregular pattern may be used to determine small scale position offsetsand rotation. The data may provide the absolute position on the medium.An example of IR CMOS sensors and pre-tagged paper technology isprovided by Silverbrook research in Sydney, Australia. FIG. 1Aillustrates an example of an IR tag pattern. The pre-printed tags areprocessed to yield an overall position each sensor 138. The positioninformation of the sensors 138 is used to create a composite positionand rotation of the IT device 104 printing system. It should beunderstood that the tags in FIG. 1A are magnified. In actual use, thetags would be printed with ink that absorbs in the IR spectrum and notin the visible spectrum making the markings invisible to the naked eye.

Once the print module 132 receives the positioning information it maycoordinate the location of the print head 112 to a portion of theprocessed image with a corresponding location. The print module 132 maythen control the print head 112 in a manner to deposit a printingsubstance on the medium to represent the corresponding portion of theprocessed image.

The print head 112 may be an inkjet print head having a plurality ofnozzles designed to emit liquid ink droplets. The ink, which may becontained in reservoirs/cartridges, may be black and/or any of a numberof various colors. A common, full-color inkjet print head may havenozzles for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink. Other embodiments mayutilize other printing techniques, e.g., toner-based printers such aslaser or light-emitting diode (LED) printers, solid ink printers,dye-sublimation printers, inkless printers, etc.

The control block 108 may also include an image capture module 142. Theimage capture module 142 may be communicatively coupled to one or moreoptical imaging sensors 146. The optical imaging sensors 146 may includea number of individual sensor elements. The optical imaging sensors 146may be designed to capture a plurality of surface images of the medium,which may be individually referred to as component surface images. Theimage capture module 142 may generate a composite image by stitchingtogether the component surface images. The image capture module 142 mayreceive positioning information from the positioning module 134 tofacilitate the arrangement of the component surface images into thecomposite image.

Relative to an imaging navigation sensor, an optical imaging sensor mayhave a higher resolution, smaller pixel size, and/or higher lightrequirements. While an imaging navigation sensor may be configured tocapture details about the structure of the underlying medium, an opticalimaging sensor may be configured to capture an image of the surface ofthe medium itself.

In an embodiment in which the IT device 104 is capable of scanning fullcolor images, the optical imaging sensors 146 may have the sensorelements designed to scan different colors.

A composite image acquired by the IT device 104 may be subsequentlytransmitted to one or more of the other devices 120 by, e.g., e-mail,fax, file transfer protocols, etc. The composite image may beadditionally/alternatively stored locally by the IT device 104 forsubsequent review, transmittal, printing, etc.

In addition (or as an alternative) to composite image acquisition, theimage capture module 142 may be utilized for calibrating the positioningmodule 134. In various embodiments, the component surface images(whether individually, some group, or collectively as the compositeimage) may be compared to the processed print image rendered by theimage processing module 128 to correct for accumulated positioningerrors and/or to reorient the positioning module 134 in the event thepositioning module 134 loses track of its reference point. This mayoccur, for example, if the IT device 104 is removed from the mediumduring an IT operation.

The IT device 104 may include a power supply 150 coupled to the controlblock 108. The power supply 150 may be a mobile power supply, e.g., abattery, a rechargeable battery, a solar power source, etc. In otherembodiments the power supply 150 may additionally/alternatively regulatepower provided by another component (e.g., one of the other devices 120,a power cord coupled to an alternating current (AC) outlet, etc.).

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of an IT device 200 in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention. The IT device 200, whichmay be substantially interchangeable with IT device 104, may have a pair(or more if desired) of navigation sensors 204, optical imaging sensors208, and a print head 212.

The pair of navigation sensors 204 may be used by a positioning moduleto determine positioning information related to the optical imagingsensors 208 and/or the print head 212. As stated above, the proximalrelationship of the optical imaging sensors 208 and/or print head 212 tothe navigation sensors 204 may be fixed to facilitate the positioning ofthe optical imaging sensors 208 and/or print head 212 throughinformation obtained by the navigation sensors 204.

The print head 212 may be an inkjet print head having a number of nozzlerows for different colored inks. In particular, and as shown in FIG. 2,the print head 212 may have a nozzle row 212 c for cyan-colored ink, anozzle row 212 m for magenta-colored ink, a nozzle row 212 y foryellow-colored ink, and nozzle row 212 k for black-colored ink. Thenozzle rows of the print head 212 may be arranged around the opticalimaging sensors 208. This may allow for the optical imaging sensors 208to capture information about the ink deposited on the medium, whichrepresents the processed image in various formative stages, for thepredominant side-to-side motion of the IT device 200.

In various embodiments the placement of the nozzles of the print head212 and the sensor elements of the optical imaging sensors 208 may befurther configured to account for the unpredictable nature of movementof the hand-propelled IT device 200. For example, while the nozzles andsensor elements are arranged in linear arrays in the IT device 200 otherembodiments may arrange the nozzles and/or sensor elements in otherpatterns. In some embodiments the nozzles may be arranged completelyaround the sensor elements so that whichever way the IT device 200 ismoved the optical imaging sensors 208 will capture component imagesreflecting deposited ink. In some embodiments, the nozzles may bearranged in rings around the sensor elements (e.g., concentric circles,nested rectangular patterns, etc.).

While the nozzle rows 212 c, 212 m, 212 y, and 212 k shown in FIG. 2 arearranged in rows according to their color, other embodiments mayintermix the different colored nozzles in a manner that may increase thechances that an adequate amount of appropriate colored ink is depositedon the medium through the natural course of movement of the IT device200 over the medium.

In the embodiment depicted by FIG. 2, the linear dimension of theoptical imaging sensors 208 may be similar to the linear dimension ofthe nozzle rows of the print head 212. The linear dimensions may referto the dimensions along the major axis of the particular component,e.g., the vertical axis of the optical imaging sensors 208 as shown inFIG. 2. Having similar linear dimensions may provide that roughly thesame amount of passes over a medium are required for a complete imagetranslation operation. Furthermore, having similar dimensions may alsofacilitate the positioning calibration as a component surface imagecaptured by the optical imaging sensors 208 may correspond to depositsfrom an entire nozzle row of the print head 212.

In accordance with various embodiments, a lens 216 for image capturedevice 126 may be placed such that it is on the bottom of IT device 104,as may be seen in FIG. 2. In accordance with various other embodiments,as may be seen in FIG. 2A, the lens 216 may be placed such that it is ona front side of the IT device 104, thereby allowing the IT device 104 tobe held and operated similar to typical digital cameras known in theart. As previously noted, a flash (not shown) may also be included, ifdesired.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the IT device 200 in accordance withvarious embodiments of the present invention. The IT device 200 may havea variety of user input/outputs to provide the functionality enabledthrough use of the IT device 200. The IT device 200 may also include adisplay 312. Some examples of input/outputs that may be used to providesome of the basic functions of the IT device 200 include, but are notlimited to, control inputs 304 that may be used, for example, toinitiate/resume a print operation, to initiate/resume a scan operation,to operate image capture device 126, and to control processing of animage. While four control inputs 304 are illustrated as an example,those skilled in the art will understand that more or less controlinputs 304 may be included as desired. An image that a user desires tocapture may be displayed on the display 312. Alternatively, or inaddition thereto, a viewport (not shown) may be provided through which auser may look in order to look at an image that image device 126 isabout to capture, as is known with digital cameras and cameras ingeneral. The control inputs 304 may be used to activate capturing of animage with image capture device 126.

The display 312, which may be a passive display, an interactive display,etc., may provide the user with a variety of information. Theinformation may relate to the current operating status of the IT device200 (e.g., printing, ready to print, scanning, ready to scan, receivingprint image, transmitting print image, transmitting scan image, etc.),power of the battery, errors (e.g., scanning/positioning/printing error,etc.), instructions (e.g., “position device over a printed portion ofthe image for reorientation,” etc.). If the display 312 is aninteractive display it may provide a control interface in addition to,or as an alternative from, the control inputs 304.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram 400 depicting a positioning operation of the ITdevice 200 in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention. A positioning operation may begin in block 404 with aninitiation of a scanning or a printing operation, e.g., by activation ofone of the control inputs 304. A positioning module within the IT device200 may set a reference point in block 408. The reference point may beset when the IT device 200 is placed onto a medium at the beginning of aprint or scan job. This may be ensured by the user being instructed toactivate a control input 304 once the IT device 200 is in place and/orby the proper placement of the IT device 200 being treated as acondition precedent to instituting the positioning operation. In someembodiments the proper placement of the IT device 200 may beautomatically determined through the navigation sensors 204, the opticalimaging sensors 208, and/or some other sensors (e.g., a proximitysensor).

Once the reference point is set in block 408, the positioning module maydetermine positioning information, e.g., translational and/or rotationalchanges from the reference point, using the navigation sensors 204 inblock 412. The translational changes may be determined by trackingincremental changes of the positions of the navigation sensors along atwo-dimensional coordinate system, e.g., Δx and Δy. Rotational changesmay be determined by tracking incremental changes in the angle of the ITdevice, e.g., ΔΘ, with respect to, e.g., the y-axis. These transitionaland/or rotational changes may be determined by the positioning modulecomparing consecutive navigational measurements, e.g., images, capturedby the navigation sensors 204 to detect these movements.

The positioning module may also receive component surface images fromthe optical imaging sensors 208 and processed image data from the imageprocessing module in block 416. If the positioning information isaccurate, a particular component surface image from a given locationshould match a corresponding portion of the processed image. If thegiven location is one in which the print head 212 has depositedsomething less than the target print volume for the location, thecorresponding portion of the processed image may be adjusted to accountfor the actual deposited volume for comparison to the component surfaceimage. In the event that the print head 212 has yet to deposit anymaterial in the given location, the positioning information may not beverified through this method. However, the verification of thepositioning information may be done frequently enough given the constantmovement of the IT device 200 and the physical arrangement of the nozzlerows of the print head 212 in relation to the optical imaging sensors208.

If the particular component surface image from the given location doesnot match the corresponding portion of the processed image thepositioning module may correct the determined positioning information inblock 420. Given adequate information, e.g., sufficient materialdeposited in the location captured by the component surface image, thepositioning module may set the positioning information to the offset ofthe portion of the processed image that matches the component surfaceimage. In most cases this may be an identified pattern in closeproximity to the location identified by the incorrect positioninginformation. In the event that the pattern captured by the componentsurface image does not identify a pattern unique to the regionsurrounding the incorrect positioning information, multiple componentsurface images may be combined in an attempt to identify a uniquepattern. Alternatively, correction may be postponed until a componentsurface image is captured that does identify a pattern unique to thesurrounding region.

In some embodiments, the correction of the determined positioninginformation in block 420 may be done periodically in order to avoidoverburdening the computational resources of the positioning module.

Following correction in block 420, the positioning module may transmitthe positioning information to the print module and/or image capturemodule in block 422 and determine whether the positioning operation iscomplete in block 424. If it is determined that the positioningoperation is not yet complete, the operation may loop back to block 412.If it is determined that it is the end of the positioning operation, theoperation may end in block 428. The end of the positioning operation maybe tied to the end of the image translation operation, which will bediscussed with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively.

As previously noted, pre-tagged paper may be used to provide thepositioning information of the IT device for print operations.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram 500 depicting a printing operation of the ITdevice 200 in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention. The printing operation may begin in block 504. The printmodule may receive a processed image from the image processing module inblock 508. Upon receipt of the processed image, the display may indicatethat the IT device 200 is ready for printing in block 512.

The print module may receive a print command generated from a useractivating a control input 304 in block 516. The print module may thenreceive positioning information from the positioning module in block520. The print module may then determine whether to deposit printingsubstance at the given position in block 524. The determination as towhether to deposit printing substance may be a function of the totaldrop volume for a given location and the amount of volume that has beenpreviously deposited.

If it is determined that no additional printing substance is to bedeposited in block 524, the operation may advance to block 528 todetermine whether the end of the print operation has been reached. If itis determined that additional printing substance is to be deposited inblock 524, the print module may cause an appropriate amount of printingsubstance to be deposited in block 532 by generating and transmittingcontrol signals to the print head that cause the nozzles to drop theprinting substance.

The determination of whether the end of the printing operation has beenreached in block 528 may be a function of the printed volume versus thetotal print volume. In some embodiments the end of the printingoperation may be reached even if the printed volume is less than thetotal print volume. For example, an embodiment may consider the end ofthe printing operation to occur when the printed volume is ninety-fivepercent of the total print volume. However, it may be that thedistribution of the remaining volume is also considered in the end ofprint analysis. For example, if the five percent remaining volume isdistributed over a relatively small area, the printing operation may notbe considered to be completed.

In some embodiments, an end of print job may be established by a usermanually cancelling the operation.

If, in block 528, it is determined that the printing operation has beencompleted, the printing operation may conclude in block 536.

If, in block 528, it is determined that the printing operation has notbeen completed, the printing operation may loop back to block 520.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram 600 depicting a scanning operation of the ITdevice 200 in accordance with various embodiments of the presentinvention. The scanning operation may begin in block 604 with thereceipt of a scan command generated from a user activating a controlinput 304.

The image capture module may control the optical imaging sensors 208 tocapture one or more component images in block 608. In some embodiments,the scan operation will only commence when the IT device 200 is placedon a medium. This may be ensured by manners similar to those discussedabove with respect to the printing operation, e.g., by instructing theuser to initiate scanning operation only when the IT device 200 is inplace and/or automatically determining that the IT device 200 is inplace.

The image capture module may receive positioning information from thepositioning module in block 612 and add the component images to thecomposite image in block 616. The image capture module may thendetermine if the scanning operation is complete in block 620.

The end of the scanning operation may be determined through a usermanually cancelling the operation and/or through an automaticdetermination. In some embodiments, an automatic determination of theend of print job may occur when all interior locations of a predefinedimage border have been scanned. The predefined image border may bedetermined by a user providing the dimensions of the image to be scannedor by tracing the border with the IT device 200 early in the scanningsequence.

If, in block 620, it is determined that the scanning operation has beencompleted, the scanning operation may conclude in block 624.

If, in block 620, it is determined that the scanning operation has notbeen completed, the printing operation may loop back to block 608.

Operation of IT device 200 to use image capture device 126 is similar touse of a camera. For example, a user may point the lens 216 at an imagethat the user wishes to capture. Using the control inputs 304, the usermay focus the image and/or size the image. When ready, the user maycapture the image by activating one or more control inputs 304.

With reference to FIG. 7, in accordance with various embodiments, ITdevice 104 may be configured to print a draft image 704 with a menu 708printed on a print medium 700 and located adjacent to the printed draftimage 704. This printed draft image 704 and printed menu 708 may then beevaluated for various operations that a user may wish to perform uponthe printed draft image 704 to improve the image. For example, if thedraft image 704 includes a person or animal, the eyes 706 may have whatis commonly referred to in the art as a “red eye” problem, wherein theeyes of the subject are red. A user of the IT device 104 may move the ITdevice 104 over the printed menu such that a portion of the IT device104, for example, the print head, is adjacent to a red eye option 712 onthe printed menu 708. The user may then select the red eye option 712 onthe printed menu 708, using a control input 304, in order to correct thered eye problem within the electronic copy of the image within the ITdevice 104. Once the image has been processed, the user may then reprintthe image in either another draft format, or as a final format with thered eye problem corrected, or at least improved. Examples of otheroperations that may be performed with such a printed menu include, forexample, cropping and color adjustment. Thus, in such an embodiment, theIT device 104 may be used in a manner similar to a mouse by moving theIT device 104 over the printed menu. This is because the IT device 104knows where it is on the printing surface, as previously described, andknows how the draft image and the printed menu are arranged on theprinting surface, the IT device 104 knows which operation the IT device104 is adjacent to and thus, knows which operation the user isselecting.

FIG. 8 illustrates a computing device 800 capable of implementing acontrol block, e.g., control block 108, in accordance with variousembodiments. As illustrated, for the embodiments, computing device 800includes one or more processors 804, memory 808, and bus 812, coupled toeach other as shown. Additionally, computing device 800 includes storage816, and one or more input/output interfaces 820 coupled to each other,and the earlier described elements as shown. The components of thecomputing device 800 may be designed to provide the image translationfunctions of a control block of an IT device as described herein.

Memory 808 and storage 816 may include, in particular, temporal andpersistent copies of code 824 and data 828, respectively. The code 824may include instructions that when accessed by the processors 804 resultin the computing device 800 performing operations as described inconjunction with various modules of the control block in accordance withembodiments of this invention. The processing data 828 may include datato be acted upon by the instructions of the code 824. In particular, theaccessing of the code 824 and data 828 by the processors 804 mayfacilitate image translation operations as described herein.

The processors 804 may include one or more single-core processors,multiple-core processors, controllers, application-specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), etc.

The memory 808 may include random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM(DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), dual-data rate RAM(DDRRAM), etc.

The storage 816 may include integrated and/or peripheral storagedevices, such as, but not limited to, disks and associated drives (e.g.,magnetic, optical), USB storage devices and associated ports, flashmemory, read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile semiconductor devices, etc.Storage 816 may be a storage resource physically part of the computingdevice 800 or it may be accessible by, but not necessarily a part of,the computing device 800. For example, the storage 816 may be accessedby the computing device 800 over a network. Storage transmission tostorage devices may be performed via wireless transmission and/or wiredtransmission.

The I/O interfaces 820 may include interfaces designed to communicatewith peripheral hardware, e.g., print head 112, navigation sensors 138,optical imaging sensors 146, etc., and/or remote devices, e.g., otherdevices 120. Data may be sent to and from the I/O interfaces 820 viawireless transmission and/or wired transmission. Devices may beconfigured as network peripherals.

In various embodiments, computing device 800 may have more or lesselements and/or different architectures.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art andothers, that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalentimplementations may be substituted for the specific embodiment shown anddescribed without departing from the scope of the present invention.This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations ofthe embodiment discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifested andintended that the invention be limited only by the claims and theequivalents thereof.

1. An apparatus comprising: one or more navigation sensors configured tocapture a first plurality of navigational measurements, and a secondplurality of navigational measurements; a print head configured to becontrolled to deposit a printing substance on a first medium; one ormore optical imaging sensors configured to capture (i) a first pluralityof surface images of the first medium adjacent to the apparatus, and(ii) a second plurality of surface images of a second medium adjacent tothe apparatus; and a control block configured to determine (i) a firstplurality of positions of the apparatus relative to a first referencepoint based at least in part on the first plurality of navigationalmeasurements, and (ii) a second plurality of positions of the apparatusrelative to a second reference point based at least in part on thesecond plurality of navigational measurements, construct a compositeimage based at least in part on (i) the second plurality of surfaceimages, and (ii) the second plurality of positions of the apparatus, andcontrol the print head to deposit the printing substance on the firstmedium based at least in part on (i) the composite image and (ii) thefirst plurality of positions of the apparatus.
 2. The apparatus of claim1, further comprising a communication interface configured to receive asourced image from an image source for printing of the sourced image bythe apparatus.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the communicationinterface comprises a wireless communication interface.
 4. The apparatusof claim 2, wherein the communication interface comprises a port toreceive a removable storage device.
 5. The apparatus of claim 2, whereinthe control block is further configured to process the sourced imagereceived by the communication interface in a manner to facilitatedepositing of the printing substance on the first medium, and whereinthe control block is further configured to control the print head todeposit the printing substance on the first medium based at least inpart on (i) the sourced image and (ii) the first plurality of positionsof the apparatus.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the print headincludes a plurality of nozzles; the one or more optical imaging sensorsinclude a plurality of optical elements; and the plurality of nozzles ofthe print head are arranged around the plurality of optical elements ofthe one or more optical imaging sensors.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6,wherein the plurality of nozzles of the print head are arranged in ringsaround the plurality of optical elements of the one or more opticalimaging sensors.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control blockis configured to determine the first plurality of positions of theapparatus relative to the first reference point based at least furtherin part on the first plurality of surface images of the first mediumadjacent to the apparatus.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: theprint head has a linear dimension and comprises one or more nozzle rows;and the one or more optical imaging sensors includes a linear array ofoptical elements having a linear dimension that is similar to the lineardimension of the print head.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein; theprint head includes a plurality of nozzles, and the one or more opticalimaging sensors include a plurality of optical elements; and (i) a firstset of the plurality of nozzles is arranged on a first side of theplurality of optical elements, and (ii) a second set of the plurality ofnozzles is arranged on a second side of the plurality of opticalelements.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the first set of theplurality of nozzles includes (i) nozzles for a first colored printingsubstance, and (ii) nozzles for a second colored printing substance. 12.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein (i) a third set of the plurality ofnozzles is arranged on a third side of the plurality of opticalelements, and (ii) a fourth set of the plurality of nozzles is arrangedon a fourth side of the plurality of optical elements.
 13. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the control block is further configured to store thecomposite image.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprisingmemory, wherein the control block is further configured to store thecomposite image in the memory.
 15. The apparatus of claim 13, whereinthe control block is further configured to remotely store the compositeimage.
 16. A method comprising: providing an image to an imagetranslation device; controlling one or more navigation sensors tocapture a first plurality of navigational measurements; determiningfirst positions of the image translation device relative to a referencepoint based at least in part on the first plurality of navigationalmeasurements; controlling a print head to deposit a printing substanceon a first medium based at least in part on the image and the determinedfirst positions; controlling one or more navigation sensors to capture asecond plurality of navigational measurements; determining secondpositions of the image translation device relative to the referencepoint based at least in part on the second plurality of navigationalmeasurements; controlling the print head to deposit the printingsubstance on the first medium based at least in part on the determinedsecond positions to thereby create a printed menu of operations on thefirst medium; moving the image translation device adjacent an operationwithin the printed menu of operations; and selecting the operation withthe image translation device.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein theimage is provided via one or more optical imaging sensors configured tocapture a first plurality of surface images of the first medium adjacentto the image translation device.
 18. The method of claim 16, wherein theoperations are from a list comprising cropping, adjustment for red eyeand color adjustment.
 19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:processing the provided image based upon at least one selected operationto provide a processed image; controlling one or more navigation sensorsto capture a third plurality of navigational measurements; determiningthird positions of the apparatus relative to another reference pointbased at least in part on the third plurality of navigationalmeasurements; and controlling the print head to deposit the printingsubstance on the first medium based at least in part on the processedimage and the determined third positions.
 20. An apparatus comprising:an image capture device configured to capture an image; one or morenavigation sensors configured to capture (i) a first plurality ofnavigational measurements, and (ii) a second plurality of navigationalmeasurements; a print head configured to be controlled to deposit aprinting substance on a medium; and a control block configured todetermine (i) first positions of the apparatus relative to a firstreference point based at least in part on the first plurality ofnavigational measurements, and (ii) second positions of the apparatusrelative to the first reference point based at least in part on thesecond plurality of navigational measurements, control the print head todeposit the printing substance based at least in part on (i) the imagecaptured by the image capture device and (ii) the first positions of theapparatus, control the print head to deposit the printing substance onthe medium based at least in part on the second positions of theapparatus to thereby create a printed menu of operations on the firstmedium, determine a selected operation from the printed menu ofoperations, and process the image captured by the image capture devicebased upon the selected operation to provide a processed image.
 21. Theapparatus of claim 20, wherein: the one or more navigation sensors arefurther configured to capture a third plurality of navigationalmeasurements; and the control block is further configured to determinethird positions of the apparatus relative to a second reference pointbased at least in part on the third plurality of navigationalmeasurements, and control the print head to deposit the printingsubstance on the first medium based at least in part on the processedimage and the third positions of the apparatus.
 22. The apparatus ofclaim 20, wherein the operations are from a list comprising cropping,adjustment for red eye and color adjustment.